Happy Navratri!

 

The nine-day Hindu festival of Navratri begins on October 7th, 2021.  In the Sharad Navaratri, nine forms of Shakti/Devi are honored.  Each region celebrates this festival in their own tradition's manner, but in some areas three days each are dedicated to Durga, Lakshmi and Sarasvati. This holiday culminates on the tenth day with the observance of Vijayadashami.

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Statue of Venus found in Gloucestershire

 

From the article:

"Developers in Gloucestershire, England, recently received a sign of the goddess of love’s favor, unearthing a Roman-era statuette believed to depict Venus at the site of a new construction project.  'We know pieces like these were made in central France and the Rhineland/Mosel region of Germany during the first and second centuries [C.E.],' Armstrong says. 'It seems certain the figurine is from this period and is a representation of Venus. She would most likely have stood in someone’s home shrine for the goddess.' The figurine is made of pipeclay, a white clay found along the Rhine and Meuse rivers in what is now Germany. It is intact except for a missing base."

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(© photo Cotswold Archaeology)

Thiruvananthapuram Temple: A Goddess for each Letter

 

From the article:

"The deities of each Malayam letter were found based on writings of Rig Veda, Siva Samhita, Devi Bhagavatam, Harinamakeerthanam, and on the references in the kritis of Adi Shankara...in the ancient times, sages had realised the power of letters and had recorded it for the benefits of the posterity...The sculptors and researchers also have gone through the research studies and compared it with what is stated about it in Vedas.  They realised that all the deities behind the letters were goddesses in the Devi cult.  They identified 51 deities and brought them to life in the stone figures chiselled out by master sculptors of Myladi...Before deciding over the three dimensional pictures of the dimensional pictures of the deities, elaborate efforts were made to prepare the sculpture with all minute details based on scriptures in Vedas and epics."

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(© photo Times of India)

Happy Equinox!

 

Blessings of the Equinox:

May you find peaceful balance.

(© art by Natasa Ilincic)

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Harvest Moon

 

Blessings of the Harvest Moon in Pisces.

May all your paths be lit with abundant beauty & love.

(© photo Anne Fullegy)

In Her Name ~ Temple of Learning

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Ritual tools unearthed at Temple of Pharaohs

 

From the article:

"Egyptian archaeologists have unearthed a collection of ancient tools that were used in religious rituals from the Temple of the Pharaohs (Boto) in Kafr El-Sheikh governorate north of Cairo. The discovery is important because it includes the tools that were actually used in performing the daily religious rituals for goddess Hathor. The instruments include a part of a limestone pillar in the form of goddess Hathor, and a group of incense burners made of faience, one of them decorated with the head of god Horus. They also include a group of clay vessels that were used in religious and ceremonial rituals of goddess Hathor, a collection of statuettes depicting deities Tawart and Djehuty, a small maternity chair, a large offering holder, a pure gold Udjat eye, and the remains of golden scales used in the gilding of some other pieces."

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(© photo ahramonline.org)

News: Ancient Hittite temple in Anatolia to be unearthed

 From the article:
"Archaeological excavations will be carried out to unearth one of the most important temples of the Hittites in Kayalipinar, a 3,800-year-old ancient city in Turkey’s central Sivas province.  Maner, who will also head the excavation team in the ancient city, said Kayalipinar is referred to as "Samuha" in ancient Assyrian and Hittite cuneiform texts, adding that Kayalipinar was once the capital of the Hittites after Hattusa... Maner said: 'The cult of the Goddess of night was brought to Samuha from the Cilicia region (southern Anatolia) during the reign of the Hittite King Tuthaliya II, and a temple was built for her.' Stressing the importance of the excavation works, Maner said: 'Cuneiform tablets are also likely to be unearthed. These will tell about the actual historical relations and correspondence at the time, including the literature, religion and political structure of the Hittite civilization ... as well as correspondence of the Hittites with other civilizations... The most beautiful (artifacts to be unearthed) would be the statue of the Goddess, cult objects, and cuneiform tablets describing rituals.'"

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(© photo YeniSafak News)

News: Goddess Durga statue found in Budgam

 

From the article:

"An ancient sculpture of Goddess Durga has been recovered in Jammu and Kashmir in the Jhelum river. The ancient sculpture was discovered by a group of labourers who were extracting sand from the Jhelum river. According to experts, the sculpture is around 1200 years old.

"After the sculpture was recovered by the labourers, it was handed over to the Budgam police in the Khansahib area. According to the police, the sculpture is 12 by 8 inches in size and is carved in a black stone. The small sculpture is of Goddess Durga, who is sitting on a lion throne along with four attendants."

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(© photo N. Ahmad)

Cybele figurines discovered in Bergama

 

From the article:
"'We have been working on sanctuaries in the region for several years. We have identified sacred areas within the city area. This was also a surprise. Because we usually found the Cybele figurine outside the city and in the surrounding areas. After we found the figurines, we deepened the excavations in those areas. The newly found figurines give us a lot of information about the religious belief of the period. At that time, Gods such as Zeus and Athena were official cults, but the figurines unearthed in natural sanctuaries tell us the belief of the people. There was a wide spectrum of religions in Bergama 2,200 years ago and people believed in different Gods. Cybele statuettes in tombs, natural areas, and sanctuaries found in the city center reveal that the people generally preferred the Anatolian fertility Goddess.'

"Underlining that their articles on the Cybele find in the region were met with interest in the international archeology world, Ateş said, 'Even though official beliefs have changed, the cult of mother Goddess, fertility and mother earth has continued to live in people’s hearts. The existence of women and their symbolization of nature was very strong in Anatolia'."

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(© photo Arkeonews)